country in the northwest of Europe, character of the United Kingdom

England is a nation that is contribution of the United Kingdom. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The nation covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The sphere now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic time period, but takes its identify from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its appoint from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a incorporate state in the tenth century and has had a meaning cultural and legal shock on the wide worldly concern since the Age of Discovery, which began during the fifteenth hundred. [ 9 ] The english speech, the Anglican Church, and English police —the basis for the common police legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the area ‘s parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. [ 10 ] The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the universe ‘s first industrialized state. [ 11 ]

England ‘s terrain is chiefly low hills and plains, particularly in central and southerly England. however, there is highland and mountainous terrain in the north ( for exercise, the Lake District and Pennines ) and in the west ( for model, Dartmoor and the Shropshire Hills ). The capital is London, which has the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. England ‘s population of 56.3 million comprises 84 % of the population of the United Kingdom, [ 4 ] largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the nineteenth hundred. [ 12 ] The Kingdom of England – which after 1535 included Wales – ceased being a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union put into consequence the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year, resulting in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland ( through another Act of Union ) to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. [ 15 ]

Toponymy

The name “ England ” is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means “ state of the Angles “. [ 16 ] The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the early Middle Ages. The Angles came from the Anglia peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area ( contemporary German state of Schleswig–Holstein ) of the Baltic Sea. [ 17 ] The earliest recorded use of the term, as “ Engla londe ”, is in the late-ninth-century translation into Old English of Bede ‘s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. The term was then used in a different smell to the modern one, meaning “ the land inhabited by the English ”, and it included english people in what is now southeast Scotland but was then depart of the English kingdom of Northumbria. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Domesday Book of 1086 covered the unharmed of England, meaning the english kingdom, but a few years former the Chronicle stated that King Malcolm III went “ out of Scotlande into Lothian in Englaland ”, thus using it in the more ancient sense. The earliest attest reference book to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century ferment by Tacitus, Germania, in which the Latin give voice Anglii is used. [ 19 ] The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars ; it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular condition. [ 20 ] How and why a terminus derived from the name of a tribe that was less meaning than others, such as the Saxons, came to be used for the entire state and its people is not known, but it seems this is related to the custom of calling the Germanic people in Britain Angli Saxones or english Saxons to distinguish them from continental Saxons ( Eald-Seaxe ) of Old Saxony between the Weser and Eider rivers in Northern Germany. [ 21 ] In scottish Gaelic, another speech which developed on the island of Great Britain, the Saxon tribe gave their name to the word for England ( Sasunn ) ; [ 22 ] similarly, the Welsh name for the english language is “ Saesneg “. A romantic mention for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, and made popular by its use in arthurian legend. Albion is besides applied to England in a more poetic capacity, [ 23 ] though its original mean is the island of Britain as a whole .

history

prehistory and antiquity

see of the ramparts of the develop hillfort of Maiden Castle, Dorset, as they look today The earliest know evidence of human bearing in the area nowadays known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago. [ 24 ] Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were alone established within the end 6,000 years. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] After the last frost age only big mammals such as mammoths, bison and flocculent rhinoceros remained. approximately 11,000 years ago, when the ice sheets began to recede, humans repopulated the area ; genic research suggests they came from the northern function of the iberian Peninsula. [ 27 ] The sea level was lower than now and Britain was connected by land bridge to Ireland and Eurasia. [ 28 ] As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000 years ago and from Eurasia two millennium late. The Beaker culture arrived around 2,500 BC, introducing drink and food vessels constructed from cadaver, adenine well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores. [ 29 ] It was during this fourth dimension that major neolithic monuments such as Stonehenge and Avebury were constructed. By heating together can and copper, which were in abundance in the area, the Beaker culture people made bronze, and subsequently iron from iron ores. The development of iron smelt allowed the construction of better plow, advancing department of agriculture ( for exemplify, with Celtic fields ), a well as the production of more effective weapons. [ 30 ] During the Iron Age, celtic culture, deriving from the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures, arrived from Central Europe. Brythonic was the spoken speech during this fourth dimension. society was tribal ; according to Ptolemy ‘s Geographia there were about 20 tribes in the area. Earlier divisions are stranger because the Britons were not literate. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoy deal links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic attempted to invade doubly in 55 BC ; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a node king from the Trinovantes .
The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius, subsequently conquering much of Britain, and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as Britannia province. [ 31 ] The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the Catuvellauni led by Caratacus. Later, an get up led by Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, ended with Boudica ‘s suicide following her frustration at the Battle of Watling Street. [ 32 ] The generator of one study of Roman Britain suggested that from 43 AD to 84 AD, the Roman invaders killed somewhere between 100,000 and 250,000 people from a population of possibly 2,000,000. [ 33 ] This earned run average saw a classical polish prevail with the presentation of Roman police, Roman architecture, aqueducts, sewers, many agrarian items and silk. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ] In the third century, Emperor Septimius Severus died at Eboracum ( now York ), where Constantine was subsequently proclaimed emperor a century late. [ 37 ] There is consider about when Christianity was first introduced ; it was no former than the fourth century, credibly much earlier. According to Bede, missionaries were sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the headman Lucius of Britain in 180 AD, to settle differences as to Eastern and western ceremonials, which were disturbing the church. There are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming an introduction through Joseph of Arimathea, while others claim through Lucius of Britain. [ 38 ] By 410, during the Decline of the Roman Empire, Britain was left exposed by the end of Roman rule in Britain and the withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers in continental Europe and partake in civil wars. [ 39 ] Celtic Christian monk and missionary movements flourished : Patrick ( 5th-century Ireland ) and in the sixth century Brendan ( Clonfert ), Comgall ( Bangor ), David ( Wales ), Aiden ( Lindisfarne ) and Columba ( Iona ). This period of Christianity was influenced by ancient celtic polish in its sensibilities, polity, practices and theology. local “ congregations ” were centred in the monk community and cloistered leaders were more like chieftains, as peers, rather than in the more hierarchical system of the Roman-dominated church. [ 40 ]

Middle Ages

Roman military withdrawals left Britain open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors from north-western continental Europe, chiefly the Saxons, Angles, Jutes and Frisians who had long raided the coasts of the Roman state. These groups then began to settle in increasing numbers over the course of the fifth and sixth centuries, initially in the eastern part of the country. [ 39 ] Their advance was contained for some decades after the Britons ‘ victory at the Battle of Mount Badon, but subsequently resumed, overrunning the prolific lowlands of Britain and reducing the area under Brittonic control condition to a series of distinguish enclaves in the more furrowed state to the west by the end of the sixth century. contemporary text describing this menstruation are extremely scarce, giving rise to its description as a Dark Age. The nature and progress of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is consequently subject to considerable disagreement ; the emerging consensus is that it occurred on a large scale in the south and east but was less significant to the north and west, where celtic languages continued to be spoken even in areas under Anglo-Saxon restraint. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ] Roman-dominated Christianity had, in general, disappeared from the suppress territories, but was reintroduced by missionaries from Rome led by Augustine from 597 onwards. [ 47 ] Disputes between the Roman- and Celtic-dominated forms of Christianity ended in victory for the Roman custom at the Council of Whitby ( 664 ), which was apparently about tonsures ( clerical haircuts ) and the date of Easter, but more importantly, about the differences in Roman and Celtic forms of authority, theology, and exercise. [ 40 ] During the settlement period the lands ruled by the incomers seem to have been fragmented into numerous tribal territories, but by the seventh hundred, when substantial tell of the situation again become available, these had coalesced into roughly a twelve kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia, Essex, Kent and Sussex. Over the follow centuries, this procedure of political consolidation continued. [ 48 ] The seventh century saw a struggle for hegemony between Northumbria and Mercia, which in the eighth hundred gave direction to Mercian eminence. [ 49 ] In the early ninth hundred Mercia was displaced as the foremost kingdom by Wessex. Later in that century escalating attacks by the Danes culminated in the seduction of the north and east of England, overthrowing the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. Wessex under Alfred the Great was left as the alone surviving english kingdom, and under his successors, it steadily expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of the Danelaw. This brought about the political union of England, first accomplished under Æthelstan in 927 and definitively established after promote conflicts by Eadred in 953. A fresh wave of scandinavian attacks from the late tenth hundred ended with the seduction of this unite kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard in 1013 and again by his son Cnut in 1016, turning it into the center of a ephemeral North Sea Empire that besides included Denmark and Norway. however, the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of Edward the Confessor in 1042 .
A dispute over the sequence to Edward led to the Norman Conquest in 1066, accomplished by an army led by Duke William of Normandy. [ 50 ] The Normans themselves originated from Scandinavia and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early tenth centuries. [ 51 ] This conquest led to the about full eviction of the English elect and its successor by a new french-speaking nobility, whose address had a profound and permanent effect on the english language. [ 52 ] subsequently, the House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English toilet under Henry II, adding England to the budding Angevin Empire of fiefs the family had inherited in France including Aquitaine. [ 53 ] They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being Richard I, Edward I, Edward III and Henry V. [ 53 ] The menstruation saw changes in trade and legislation, including the sign language of the Magna Carta, an english legal charter used to limit the sovereign ‘s powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen. catholic monasticism flourished, providing philosophers, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal condescension. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the thirteenth century [ 54 ] and the Lordship of Ireland was given to the English monarchy by the Pope. During the fourteenth hundred, the Plantagenets and the House of Valois both claimed to be legitimate claimants to the House of Capet and with it France ; the two powers clashed in the Hundred Years ‘ War. [ 55 ] The Black Death epidemic shoot England ; starting in 1348, it finally killed up to half of England ‘s inhabitants. [ 56 ] [ 57 ] From 1453 to 1487 civil war occurred between two branches of the royal kin – the Yorkists and Lancastrians – known as the Wars of the Roses. [ 58 ] finally it led to the Yorkists losing the throne wholly to a Welsh lord family the Tudors, a outgrowth of the Lancastrians headed by Henry Tudor who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field where the Yorkist king Richard III was killed. [ 59 ]

early modern

King Henry VIII ( 1491–1547 ) queen Elizabeth I ( 1558–1603 ) During the Tudor period, the Renaissance reached England through italian courtiers, who reintroduced artistic, educational and scholarly consider from classical antiquity. [ 60 ] England began to develop naval skills, and exploration to the West intensified. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] Henry VIII broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to his disassociate, under the Acts of Supremacy in 1534 which proclaimed the sovereign head of the Church of England. In contrast with much of european Protestantism, the roots of the separate were more political than theological. [ niobium 1 ] He besides legally incorporated his ancestral state Wales into the Kingdom of England with the 1535–1542 acts. There were inner religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry ‘s daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The early took the nation back to Catholicism while the latter bankrupt from it again, forcefully asserting the domination of Anglicanism. The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor senesce of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ( “ the Virgin Queen ” ). Historians frequently depict it as the aureate age in English history. Elizabethan England represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the bloom of artwork, poetry, music and literature. [ 64 ] The earned run average is most celebrated for its drama, theater and playwrights. England during this period had a centralised, well-organised, and effective politics as a result of huge Tudor reforms. [ 65 ] Competing with Spain, the beginning english colony in the Americas was founded in 1585 by explorer Walter Raleigh in Virginia and named Roanoke. The Roanoke colony failed and is known as the bemused colony after it was found abandoned on the render of the late-arriving supply ship. [ 66 ] With the East India Company, England besides competed with the Dutch and French in the East. During the Elizabethan period, England was at war with Spain. An armada sailed from Spain in 1588 as region of a broad plan to invade England and re-establish a Catholic monarchy. The plan was thwarted by badly coordination, stormy weather and successful harry attacks by an english evanesce under Lord Howard of Effingham. This failure did not end the threat : Spain launched two further armadas, in 1596 and 1597, but both were driven back by storms. The political structure of the island changed in 1603, when the King of Scots, James VI, a kingdom which had been a long-time rival to English interests, inherited the throne of England as James I, thereby creating a personal union. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] He styled himself King of Great Britain, although this had no footing in English law. [ 69 ] Under the auspices of King James VI and I the authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible was published in 1611. It was the standard version of the Bible read by most protestant Christians for four hundred years until modern revisions were produced in the twentieth hundred .
Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, the English Civil War was fought between the supporters of Parliament and those of King Charles I, known colloquially as Roundheads and Cavaliers respectively. This was an interlacing part of the across-the-board multifaceted Wars of the Three Kingdoms, involving Scotland and Ireland. The Parliamentarians were triumphant, Charles I was executed and the kingdom replaced by the Commonwealth. Leader of the Parliament forces, Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector in 1653 ; a menstruation of personal rule followed. [ 70 ] After Cromwell ‘s death and the resignation of his son Richard as Lord Protector, Charles II was invited to return as sovereign in 1660, in a move called the Restoration. With the reopen of theatres, all right arts, literature and performing arts flourished throughout the Restoration of ”the Merry Monarch ” Charles II. [ 71 ] After the glorious Revolution of 1688, it was constitutionally established that King and Parliament should rule in concert, though Parliament would have the actual ability. This was established with the Bill of Rights in 1689. Among the statutes set down were that the law could only be made by Parliament and could not be suspended by the King, besides that the King could not impose taxes or raise an army without the prior blessing of Parliament. [ 72 ] besides since that time, no british sovereign has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting, which is annually commemorated at the State Opening of Parliament by the british sovereign when the doors of the House of Commons are slammed in the face of the monarch ‘s messenger, symbolising the rights of Parliament and its independence from the monarch. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] With the establish of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. In 1666 the Great Fire of London gutted the City of London but it was rebuilt soon afterwards [ 75 ] with many significant buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren. In Parliament two factions had emerged – the Tories and Whigs. Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king James II, some of them, along with the Whigs, during the Revolution of 1688 invite Dutch prince William of Orange to defeat James and ultimately to become William III of England. Some english people, particularly in the north, were Jacobites and continued to support James and his sons. Under the Stuart dynasty England expanded in trade, finance and prosperity. Britain developed Europe ‘s largest merchant fleet. [ 76 ] After the parliaments of England and Scotland agreed, [ 77 ] the two countries joined in political union, to create the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. [ 67 ] To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national churches of each remained break. [ 78 ]

late modern and contemporary

Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output signal from the Royal Society and other english initiatives combined with the scots Enlightenment to create innovations in skill and engineering, while the enormous growth in British oversea deal protected by the Royal Navy paved the way for the institution of the british Empire. Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution, a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialized farming, fabricate, engineering and mine, ampere well as new and pioneer road, vilify and water system networks to facilitate their expansion and development. [ 79 ] The afford of Northwest England ‘s Bridgewater Canal in 1761 usher in the canal old age in Britain. [ 80 ] [ 81 ] In 1825 the worldly concern ‘s first gear permanent wave steamer locomotive-hauled passenger railway – the Stockton and Darlington Railway – opened to the public. [ 80 ]
During the Industrial Revolution, many workers moved from England ‘s countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for exemplify at Birmingham and Manchester, dubbed “ Workshop of the World ” and “ Warehouse City ” respectively. [ 83 ] [ 84 ] Manchester was the earth ‘s foremost industrial city. [ 85 ] England maintained relative stability throughout the french Revolution ; William Pitt the Younger was british Prime Minister for the reign of George III. The Regency of George IV is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and computer architecture. [ 86 ] During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon planned to invade from the southeast. however this failed to manifest and the napoleonic forces were defeated by the british : at sea by Lord Nelson, and on down by the Duke of Wellington. The major victory at the Battle of Trafalgar confirmed the naval domination Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century. [ 87 ] The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of Britishness and a unite national british people, shared with the English, Scots and Welsh. [ 88 ]
London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the earth during the victorian earned run average, and trade within the british Empire – equally well as the stand of the british military and united states navy – was prestigious. [ 89 ] technologically, this earned run average saw many innovations that proved key to the United Kingdom ‘s power and prosperity. [ 90 ] political agitation at home plate from radicals such as the Chartists and the suffragettes enabled legislative reform and universal joint right to vote. [ 91 ] Samuel Hynes described the edwardian era as a “ easy meter when women wore mental picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun in truth never set on the british flag. ” [ 92 ] Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I ; hundreds of thousands of English soldiers died fighting for the United Kingdom as part of the Allies. [ nota bene 2 ] Two decades late, in World War II, the United Kingdom was again one of the Allies. At the end of the Phoney War, Winston Churchill became the wartime Prime Minister. Developments in war technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during the Blitz. Following the war, the british Empire experienced rapid decolonization, and there was a speeding-up of technological innovations ; automobiles became the primary means of transport and Frank Whittle ‘s exploitation of the jet locomotive led to wider air travel. [ 94 ] Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the universe of the National Health Service ( NHS ) in 1948. The UK ‘s NHS provided publicly funded health concern to all UK permanent residents exempt at the luff of need, being paid for from general tax. Combined, these prompted the reform of local government in England in the mid-20th hundred. [ 95 ] [ 96 ] Since the twentieth hundred there has been significant population apparent motion to England, largely from early parts of the british Isles, but besides from the Commonwealth, particularly the indian subcontinent. [ 97 ] Since the 1970s there has been a big move away from fabrication and an increasing emphasis on the service industry. [ 98 ] As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a coarse commercialize enterprise called the european Economic Community which became the European Union. Since the deep twentieth hundred the administration of the United Kingdom has moved towards devolved government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. [ 99 ] England and Wales continues to exist as a legal power within the United Kingdom. [ 100 ] Devolution has stimulated a greater vehemence on a more English-specific identity and patriotism. [ 101 ] [ 102 ] There is no devolve english government, but an try to create a exchangeable organization on a sub-regional footing was rejected by referendum. [ 103 ]

government

Politics

England is part of the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary arrangement. [ 104 ] There has not been a government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. [ 77 ] Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England. Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although early countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments. [ 105 ] In the House of Commons which is the lower family of the british Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster, there are 532 Members of Parliament ( MPs ) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 full. [ 106 ] As of the 2019 United Kingdom general election, England is represented by 345 MPs from the Conservative Party, 179 from the Labour Party, seven from the Liberal Democrats, one from the Green Party, and the Speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle. Since devolution, in which other countries of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – each have their own devolved parliament or assemblies for local issues, there has been argument about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that versatile regions of England would be devolved, but following the proposal ‘s rejection by the North East in a 2004 referendum, this has not been carried out. [ 103 ] One major write out is the West Lothian question, in which MPs from Scotland and Wales are able to vote on legislation affecting alone England, while english MPs have no equivalent mighty to legislate on devolve matters. [ 107 ] This when placed in the context of England being the only nation of the United Kingdom not to have absolve cancer treatment, prescriptions, residential worry for the aged and free top-up university fees, [ 108 ] has led to a steadily rise in english nationalism. [ 109 ] Some have suggested the creation of a devolve English fantan, [ 110 ] while others have proposed just limiting voting on legislation which only affects England to English MPs. [ 111 ]

law

The English law legal system, developed over the centuries, is the footing of park law [ 112 ] legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries [ 113 ] and the United States ( except Louisiana ). Despite now being contribution of the United Kingdom, the legal system of the Courts of England and Wales continued, under the Treaty of Union, as a separate legal organization from the one used in Scotland. The general effect of English police is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their coarse sense and cognition of legal precedent – stare decisis – to the facts before them. [ 114 ] The court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice for civil cases, and the Crown Court for criminal cases. [ 115 ] The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in England and Wales. It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the judicial functions of the House of Lords. [ 116 ] A decisiveness of the Supreme Court is binding on every other woo in the hierarchy, which must follow its directions. [ 117 ] The Secretary of State for Justice is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system and prisons and probation in England. [ 118 ] Crime increased between 1981 and 1995 but fell by 42 % in the period 1995–2006. [ 119 ] The prison population doubled over the like period, giving it one of highest captivity pace in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000. [ 120 ] Her Majesty ‘s Prison Service, reporting to the Ministry of Justice, manages most prisons, caparison over 85,000 convicts. [ 121 ]

Regions, counties, and districts

The subdivisions of England consist of up to four levels of subnational division controlled through a assortment of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of local politics. The highest tier of local government were the nine regions of England : North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East, South East, South West, and London. These were created in 1994 as Government Offices, used by the united kingdom government to deliver a wide-eyed range of policies and programmes regionally, but there are no elective bodies at this horizontal surface, except in London, and in 2011 the regional government offices were abolished. [ 122 ] After devolution began to take position in other parts of the United Kingdom it was planned that referendum for the regions of England would take place for their own elected regional assemblies as a counterweight. London accepted in 1998 : the London Assembly was created two years late. however, when the proposal was rejected by the 2004 North East England devolution referendum in the North East, further referendums were cancelled. [ 103 ] The regional assemblies outside London were abolished in 2010, and their functions transferred to respective Regional Development Agencies and a new system of Local authority leaders ‘ boards. [ 123 ] Below the regional degree, all of England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties. [ 124 ] These are used chiefly as a geographic frame of reference book and have developed gradually since the Middle Ages, with some established equally recently as 1974. [ 125 ] Each has a Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff ; these posts are used to represent the british sovereign locally. [ 124 ] Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly, England is besides divided into 83 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties ; these equate to areas used for the purposes of local government [ 126 ] and may consist of a single district or be divided into several. There are six metropolitan counties based on the most heavily urbanize areas, which do not have county councils. [ 126 ] In these areas the star authorities are the councils of the subdivisions, the metropolitan borough. elsewhere, 27 non-metropolitan “ shire ” counties have a county council and are divided into districts, each with a zone council. They are typically, though not constantly, found in more rural areas. The remaining non-metropolitan counties are of a single district and normally correspond to boastfully towns or sparsely populated counties ; they are known as one authorities. Greater London has a different system for local politics, with 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London covering a small area at the effect governed by the City of London Corporation. [ 127 ] At the most place charge, much of England is divided into civil parishes with councils ; in Greater London entirely one, Queen ‘s Park, exists as of 2014 after they were abolished in 1965 until legislation allowed their refreshment in 2007 .

geography

landscape and rivers

geographically England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly. It is bordered by two early countries of the United Kingdom : to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. England is closer than any early part of mainland Britain to the european continent. It is separated from France ( Hauts-de-France ) by a 21-mile ( 34 kilometer ) [ 128 ] sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone. [ 129 ] England besides has shores on the Irish Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The ports of London, Liverpool, and Newcastle lie on the tidal rivers Thames, Mersey and Tyne respectively. At 220 miles ( 350 kilometer ), the Severn is the longest river flowing through England. [ 130 ] It empties into the Bristol Channel and is celebrated for its Severn Bore ( a tidal tidal bore ), which can reach 2 metres ( 6.6 foot ) in acme. [ 131 ] however, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 215 miles ( 346 kilometer ) in duration. [ 132 ]
There are many lakes in England ; the largest is Windermere, within the competently named Lake District. [ 133 ] Most of England ‘s landscape consists of low hills and plains, with highland and cragged terrain in the north and west of the country. The northern uplands include the Pennines, a chain of highland dividing east and west, the Lake District mountains in Cumbria, and the Cheviot Hills, straddling the edge between England and Scotland. The highest item in England, at 978 metres ( 3,209 foot ), is Scafell Pike in the Lake District. [ 133 ] The Shropshire Hills are near Wales while Dartmoor and Exmoor are two highland areas in the southwest of the country. The approximate separate argumentation between terrain types is much indicated by the Tees-Exe line. [ 134 ] In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the “ spine of England ”, are the oldest range of mountains in the state, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. [ 135 ] Their geological writing includes, among others, sandstone and limestone, and besides coal. There are karst landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The Pennine landscape is high moor in highland areas, indented by prolific valleys of the region ‘s rivers. They contain two national parks, the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. In the West Country, Dartmoor and Exmoor of the Southwest Peninsula include highland moor supported by granite, and enjoy a balmy climate ; both are national parks. [ 136 ] The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of greens rolling hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs ; where they meet the ocean they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. This besides includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain, Somerset Levels, South Coast Plain and The Fens .

climate

England has a temperate maritime climate : it is balmy with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C ( 32 °F ) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C ( 90 °F ) in summer. [ 137 ] The weather is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter peculiarly on the English seashore, while July is normally the warmest calendar month. Months with balmy to warm weather are May, June, September and October. [ 137 ] Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year. important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its northerly latitude and the warm of the ocean by the Gulf Stream. [ 137 ] Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the Lake District receive more rain than anywhere else in the country. [ 137 ] Since upwind records began, the highest temperature recorded was 38.7 °C ( 101.7 °F ) on 25 July 2019 at the Botanic Garden in Cambridge, [ 138 ] while the lowest was −26.1 °C ( −15.0 °F ) on 10 January 1982 in Edgmond, Shropshire. [ 139 ]

nature and wildlife

The animal of England is similar to that of other areas in the british Isles with a wide-eyed range of vertebrate and invertebrate life in a divers stove of habitats. [ 141 ] National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of the nation, many by natural England themselves, but besides by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There are 229 NNRs in England covering 939 squarely kilometres ( 363 square miles ). Often they contain rare species or nationally significant species of plants and animals. [ 142 ] The Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body, established in 1995 and sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England. [ 143 ] The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the curate responsible for environmental protection, agribusiness, fisheries and rural communities in England. [ 144 ] England has a temperate oceanic climate in most areas, lacking extremes of cold or heating system, but does have a few small areas of subarctic and warm areas in the South West. Towards the North of England the climate becomes colder and most of England ‘s mountains and high hills are located here and have a major impingement on the climate and therefore the local fauna of the areas. deciduous woodlands are common across all of England and provide a big habitat for much of England ‘s wildlife, but these give manner in northern and upland areas of England to coniferous forests ( chiefly plantations ) which besides benefit certain forms of wildlife. Some species have adapted to the expanded urban environment, particularly the loss fox, which is the most successful urban mammal after the brown informer, and other animals such as common wood pigeon, both of which thrive in urban and suburban areas. [ 145 ] Grey squirrels introduced from easterly America have forced the decline of the native crimson squirrel due to contest. Red squirrels are now confined to upland and coniferous-forested areas of England, chiefly in the north, south west and Isle of Wight. England ‘s climate is very suitable for lagomorph and the area has rabbits and brown hares which were introduced in Roman times. [ 146 ] [ 147 ] Mountain hares which are autochthonal have now been re-introduced in Derbyshire. The animal of England has to cope with vary temperatures and conditions, although not extreme they do pose potential challenges and adaptational measures. English fauna has however had to cope with industrialization, human population densities amongst the highest in Europe and intensive farm, but as England is a developed nation, wildlife and the countryside have entered the english mentality more and the state is very conscientious about preserving its wildlife, environment and countryside. [ 148 ]

major conurbations

The Greater London Built-up Area is by far the largest urban area in England [ 149 ] and one of the busiest cities in the earth. It is considered a ball-shaped city and has a population larger than any other state in the United Kingdom besides England itself. [ 149 ] other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in northern England or the english Midlands. [ 149 ] There are 50 settlements which have designated city condition in England, while the across-the-board United Kingdom has 66. While many cities in England are quite large, such as Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bradford, Nottingham, population size is not a prerequisite for city condition. [ 150 ] traditionally the status was given to towns with diocesan cathedrals, so there are smaller cities like Wells, Ely, Ripon, Truro and Chichester .

economy

[151][152] The City of London is the fiscal capital of the United Kingdom and one of the largest fiscal centres in the earth. England ‘s economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with an average GDP per head of £28,100. Her Majesty ‘s Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is creditworthy for developing and executing the politics ‘s public finance policy and economic policy. [ 153 ] normally regarded as a mix grocery store economy, it has adopted many free market principles, yet maintains an advance social wellbeing infrastructure. [ 154 ] The official currency in England is the egyptian pound sterling, whose ISO 4217 code is GBP. tax income in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe – as of 2014 the basic rate of personal tax is 20 % on taxable income up to £31,865 above the personal tax-exempt allowance ( normally £10,000 ), and 40 % on any extra earnings above that amount. [ 155 ] The economy of England is the largest contribution of the UK ‘s economy, [ 156 ] which has the 18th highest GDP PPP per head in the world. England is a drawing card in the chemical [ 157 ] and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software diligence. London, base to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom ‘s main malcolm stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England ‘s fiscal center, with 100 of Europe ‘s 500 largest corporations being based there. [ 158 ] London is the largest fiscal center in Europe, and as of 2014 is the second largest in the earth. [ 159 ] Manchester is the largest fiscal and professional services sector outside London and is the mid grade individual equity das kapital of Europe angstrom well as one of the growing engineering hubs of Europe. [ 160 ] The Bank of England, founded in 1694 by scots banker William Paterson, is the United Kingdom ‘s central bank. primitively established as secret banker to the government of England, since 1946 it has been a state-owned initiation. [ 161 ] The bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, although not in other parts of the United Kingdom. The government has devolved province to the bank ‘s monetary Policy Committee for managing the monetary policy of the state and setting interest rates. [ 162 ] England is highly industrialized, but since the 1970s there has been a refuse in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a more service industry oriented economy. [ 98 ] Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated by pharmaceuticals, cars ( although many english marques are now foreign-owned, such as Land Rover, Lotus, Jaguar and Bentley ), crude vegetable oil and petroleum from the English parts of North Sea oil along with Wytch Farm, aircraft engines and alcoholic beverages. [ 163 ] The creative industries accounted for 7 per cent GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6 per cent per annum between 1997 and 2005. [ 164 ] Most of the UK ‘s £30 billion [ 165 ] aerospace industry is chiefly based in England. The ball-shaped market opportunity for UK aerospace manufacturers over the future two decades is estimated at £3.5 trillion. [ 166 ] GKN Aerospace – an adept in metallic and composite aerostructures is involved in about every civil and military fix and synchronous converter wing aircraft in production is based in Redditch. [ 167 ] BAE Systems makes big sections of the Typhoon Eurofighter at its sub-assembly plant in Salmesbury and assembles the aircraft for the RAF at its Warton plant, near Preston. It is besides a principal subcontractor on the F35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world ‘s largest individual defense project – for which it designs and manufactures a image of components including the aft fuselage, vertical and horizontal tail and wing tips and fuel system. It besides manufactures the Hawk, the worldly concern ‘s most successful jet train aircraft. [ 167 ] Rolls-Royce PLC is the worldly concern ‘s second-largest aero-engine manufacturer. Its engine power more than 30 types of commercial aircraft, and it has more 30,000 engines presently in service across both the civil and defense sectors. With a work force of over 12,000 people, Derby has the largest concentration of Rolls-Royce employees in the UK. Rolls-Royce besides produces low-emission power systems for ships ; makes critical equipment and base hit systems for the nuclear industry and powers offshore platforms and major pipelines for the oil and gas diligence. [ 167 ] [ 168 ] The pharmaceutical industry plays an important character in the economy, and the UK has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R & D expenditures. [ 169 ] [ 170 ] much of the UK ‘s space industry is centred on EADS Astrium, based in Stevenage and Portsmouth. The company builds the buses – the underlie social organization onto which the warhead and propulsion systems are built – for most of the european Space Agency ‘s spacecraft, a well as commercial satellites. The world drawing card in compact satellite systems, Surrey Satellite Technology, is besides character of Astrium. [ 167 ] Reaction Engines Limited, the company design to build Skylon, a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane using their saber rocket engine, a combined-cycle, air-breathing rocket propulsion system is based Culham. The united kingdom space industry was worth £9.1bn in 2011 and employed 29,000 people. It is growing at a rate of 7.5 per cent annually, according to its umbrella arrangement, the UK Space Agency. In 2013, the british Government pledged £60 million to the Skylon project : this investment will provide support at a “ crucial stage ” to allow a all-out prototype of the SABRE locomotive to be built. agribusiness is intensive, highly mechanised and effective by european standards, producing 60 % of food needs with only 2 % of the british labour party power. [ 171 ] Two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops. [ 172 ] The independent crops that are grown are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets. England retains a significant, though much reduced fishing industry. Its fleets bring home pisces of every kind, ranging from lone to herring. It is besides rich in natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural accelerator, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, methamphetamine, gypsum, conduct, and silica. [ 173 ]

science and engineering

big english figures from the field of skill and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Robert Hooke, James Prescott Joule, John Dalton, Lord Rayleigh, J. J. Thomson, James Chadwick, Charles Babbage, George Boole, Alan Turing, Tim Berners-Lee, Paul Dirac, Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Roger Penrose, John Horton Conway, Thomas Bayes, Arthur Cayley, G. H. Hardy, Oliver Heaviside, Andrew Wiles, Edward Jenner, Francis Crick, Joseph Lister, Joseph Priestley, Thomas Young, Christopher Wren and Richard Dawkins. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a metric system was invented by John Wilkins, the first secretary of the Royal Society, in 1668. [ 174 ] England was a leading center of the Scientific Revolution from the seventeenth hundred. [ 175 ] As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many meaning inventors during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. celebrated english engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the universe of the Great Western Railway, a series of celebrated steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public tape drive and contemporary engineer. [ 176 ] Thomas Newcomen ‘s steam locomotive helped spawn the Industrial Revolution. [ 177 ] The Father of Railways, George Stephenson, built the beginning public inter-city railway line in the worldly concern, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830. With his role in the market and manufacture of the steam engine, and invention of modern coinage, Matthew Boulton ( business partner of James Watt ) is regarded as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in history. [ 178 ] The doctor Edward Jenner ‘s smallpox vaccine is said to have “ saved more lives … than were lost in all the wars of world since the beginning of record history. ” [ 179 ] [ 181 ]
Inventions and discoveries of the English include : the jet engine, the first industrial spinning car, the first computer and the first base mod calculator, the World Wide Web along with HTML, the foremost successful human lineage transfusion, the motorized vacuum cleaner, [ 183 ] the lawn lawn mower, the seat belt, the hovercraft, the electric motive, steam engines, and theories such as the Darwinian hypothesis of evolution and atomic hypothesis. Newton developed the ideas of universal gravitation, newtonian mechanics, and calculus, and Robert Hooke his eponymously named law of elasticity. other inventions include the iron denture railway, the thermosiphon, tarmacadam, the rubber band, the mousetrap, “ big cat ‘s eye ” road marker, joint development of the light bulb, steam locomotives, the modern seed drill and many modern techniques and technologies used in preciseness engineer. [ 184 ] The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, [ 185 ] is a learn society and the United Kingdom ‘s national academy of sciences. Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as “ The Royal Society ”. [ 185 ] It is the oldest national scientific institution in the world. [ 186 ] The club fulfils a number of roles : promoting science and its benefits, recognising excellence in science, supporting outstanding skill, providing scientific advice for policy, fostering international and ball-shaped co-operation, department of education and public battle. [ 187 ] The Royal Society started from groups of physicians and natural philosophers, converge at a assortment of locations, including Gresham College in London. They were influenced by the “ fresh science “, as promoted by Francis Bacon in his New Atlantis, from approximately 1645 onwards. [ 188 ] A group known as “ The Philosophical Society of Oxford ” was run under a determine of rules hush retained by the Bodleian Library. [ 189 ] After the english Restoration, there were regular meetings at Gresham College. [ 190 ] It is widely held that these groups were the inspiration for the initiation of the Royal Society. [ 189 ] Scientific inquiry and development remains crucial in the universities of England, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry. [ 191 ] Between 2004 and 2008 the United Kingdom produced 7 per penny of the universe ‘s scientific research papers and had an 8 per cent partake of scientific citations, the third and second-highest in the earth ( after the United States and China, respectively ). [ 192 ] Scientific journals produced in the United Kingdom include Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet. [ 193 ]

transportation

The Department for Transport is the government body responsible for overseeing conveyance in England. The department is run by the Secretary of State for Transport. England has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure. There are many motorways in England, and many other torso roads, such as the A1 Great North Road, which runs through eastern England from London to Newcastle [ 194 ] ( much of this section is expressway ) and onward to the scots margin. The longest expressway in England is the M6, from Rugby through the North West up to the Anglo-Scottish border, a distance of 232 miles ( 373 kilometer ). [ 194 ] early major routes include : the M1 from London to Leeds, the M25 which encircles London, the M60 which encircles Manchester, the M4 from London to South Wales, the M62 from Liverpool via Manchester to East Yorkshire, and the M5 from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West. [ 194 ] Bus conveyance across the country is widespread ; major companies include Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead Group, National Express, Rotala and Stagecoach Group. The red bus buses in London have become a symbol of England. National Cycle Route offers cycling routes nationally. There is a rapid transit net in two english cities : the London Underground ; and the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Sunderland. [ 195 ] There are several tram networks, such as the Blackpool tramline, Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram and West Midlands Metro, and the Tramlink system centred on Croydon in South London. [ 195 ]
Great british Railways is a planned state-owned populace torso that will oversee fulminate transport in Great Britain from 2023. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for the economic and condom regulation of England ‘s railways. [ 196 ] Rail transmit in England is the oldest in the populace : passenger railways originated in England in 1825. [ 197 ] Much of Britain ‘s 10,000 miles ( 16,000 kilometer ) of rail network lies in England, covering the nation fairly extensively, although a high proportion of railroad track lines were closed in the moment one-half of the twentieth century. There are plans to reopen lines such as the Varsity Line between Oxford and Cambridge. These lines are largely standard gauge ( single, double or quadruple path ) though there are besides a few constrict gauge lines. There is train transport access to France and Belgium through an submarine vilify connection, the Channel Tunnel, which was completed in 1994. Crossrail, under construction in London, is Europe ‘s largest construction project with a £15 billion projected monetary value. [ 198 ] High Speed 2, a new high-speed north–south railway credit line, projected in 2015 to cost £56 billion is to start being built in 2020. [ 199 ] England has extensive domestic and international aviation links. The largest airport is Heathrow, which is the universe ‘s busiest airport measured by number of international passengers. [ 200 ] early large airports include Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham. [ 201 ] By ocean there is ferry ecstasy, both local and international, including from Liverpool to Ireland and the Isle of Man, and Hull to the Netherlands and Belgium. [ 202 ] There are around 4,400 miles ( 7,100 kilometer ) of navigable waterways in England, half of which is owned by the Canal & River Trust, [ 202 ] however, water system transportation is very restrict. The River Thames is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at the Port of Tilbury in the Thames Estuary, one of the United Kingdom ‘s three major ports. [ 202 ]

Energy

Energy function in the United Kingdom stood at 2,249 TWh ( 193.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent ) in 2014. [ 205 ] This equates to energy consumption per capita of 34.82 MWh ( 3.00 tonnes of vegetable oil equivalent ) compared to a 2010 worldly concern average of 21.54 MWh ( 1.85 tonnes of petroleum equivalent ). [ 206 ] demand for electricity in 2014 was 34.42 GW on average [ 207 ] ( 301.7TWh over the year ) coming from a entire electricity generation of 335.0 TWh. [ 208 ] consecutive UK governments have outlined numerous commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. notably, the UK is one of the best sites in Europe for fart department of energy, and wind exponent production is its fastest growing provide. [ 204 ] [ 209 ] Wind ability contributed 15 % of UK electricity generation in 2017. [ 210 ] [ 211 ] The Climate Change Act 2008 was passed in Parliament with an submerge majority across political parties. It sets out discharge decrease targets that the UK must comply with legally. It represents the first global legally binding climate switch extenuation target set by a nation. [ 212 ] UK government energy policy aims to play a key function in limiting greenhouse gasoline emissions, whilst meeting energy necessitate. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies besides change the nation ‘s energy mix through changes in costs. [ 213 ] The current energy policy is the duty of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. [ 214 ] The Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth is creditworthy for green finance, climate science and initiation, and low carbon paper generation. [ 215 ] United Kingdom is ranked 4 out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index. [ 216 ] A law has been passed that UK greenhouse flatulence emissions will be net zero by 2050. [ 217 ]

tourism

english Heritage is a governmental torso with a broad postpone of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is presently sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. [ 218 ] The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is a charity which besides maintains multiple sites. Of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 17 are in England. [ 219 ] Some of the best sleep together of these include Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London, Jurassic Coast, Palace of Westminster, Roman Baths, City of Bath, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, Studley Royal Park and more recently the english Lake District. The northernmost steer of the Roman Empire, Hadrian ‘s Wall, is the largest Roman artifact anywhere : it runs for a total of 73 miles in northerly England. [ 220 ] The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has overall responsibility for tourism, arts and culture, cultural property, inheritance and historic environments, libraries, and museums and galleries. [ 221 ] The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism is the minister with duty over tourism in England. [ 222 ] A blue plaque, the oldest historic marker scheme in the world, is a permanent wave sign installed in a populace place in England to commemorate a link between that location and a celebrated person or event. The outline was the inspiration of politician William Ewart in 1863 and was initiated in 1866. It was formally established by the Royal Society of Arts in 1867, and since 1986 has been run by English Heritage. In 2011 there were approximately 1,600 museums in England. [ 223 ] Entry to most state-supported museums and galleries is free unlike in early countries. [ 224 ]
London is one of the world ‘s most visit cities, regularly taking the circus tent five most visit cities in Europe. [ 225 ] [ 226 ] It is largely considered a ball-shaped center of finance, arts and culture. [ 227 ]

healthcare

The National Health Service ( NHS ), is the publicly funded healthcare system creditworthy for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1946. It was based on the findings of the Beveridge Report, prepared by economist and social reformer William Beveridge. [ 228 ] The NHS is largely funded from general taxation including National Insurance payments, [ 229 ] and it provides most of its services free at the decimal point of use, although there are charges for some people for eye tests, dental care, prescriptions and aspects of personal care. [ 230 ] The government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health, who sits in the british Cabinet. Most of the consumption of the Department of Health is spent on the NHS—£98.6 billion was spent in 2008–2009. [ 231 ] In late years the private sector has been increasingly used to provide more NHS services despite opposition by doctors and trade unions. [ 232 ] When purchasing drugs, the NHS has meaning marketplace world power that, based on its own assessment of the fair value of the drugs, influences the ball-shaped price, typically keeping prices lower. [ 233 ] Several other countries either copy the UK ‘s model or directly trust on Britain ‘s assessments for their own decisions on state-financed drug reimbursements. [ 234 ] Regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council and the nurse and Midwifery Council are organised on a UK-wide footing, as are non-governmental bodies such as the Royal Colleges. The average life anticipation of people in England is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four countries of the United Kingdom. [ 235 ] The South of England has a higher life anticipation than the North ; however, regional differences do seem to be slowly narrowing : between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life anticipation in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years, the fastest increase in any area outside London, and the col between life anticipation in the North East and South East is nowadays 2.5 years, down from 2.9 in 1993. [ 235 ]

demography

population

population of England and Wales by administrative areas. Their size shows their population, with some estimate. Each group of squares in the map key is 20 % of total number of districts.

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With over 53 million inhabitants, England is by army for the liberation of rwanda the most populous area of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84 % of the compound entire. [ 12 ] : 12 [ 236 ] England taken as a unit and measured against international states would be the 25th largest country by population in the global. [ 237 ] The english people are british people. [ 238 ] Some genetic attest suggests that 75–95 % condescend in the paternal note from prehistoric settlers who originally came from the iberian Peninsula, american samoa well as a 5 % contribution from Angles and Saxons, and a significant scandinavian ( Viking ) component. [ 240 ] [ 241 ] however, early geneticists place the Germanic estimate up to half. [ 242 ] [ 243 ] Over prison term, diverse cultures have been influential : Prehistoric, Brythonic, [ 244 ] Roman, Anglo-Saxon, [ 245 ] Viking ( North Germanic ), [ 246 ] Gaelic cultures, a well as a big influence from Normans. There is an english diaspora in erstwhile parts of the british Empire ; specially the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. [ nb 3 ] Since the late 1990s, many english people have migrated to Spain. [ 251 ] [ 252 ] In 1086, when the Domesday Book was compiled, England had a population of two million. About 10 % lived in urban areas. [ 253 ] By 1801, the population was 8.3 million, and by 1901 30.5 million. [ 254 ] Due in particular to the economic prosperity of South East England, it has received many economic migrants from the other parts of the United Kingdom. [ 238 ] There has been meaning irish migration. [ 255 ] The proportion of ethnically european residents totals at 87.50 %, including Germans [ 256 ] and Poles. [ 238 ] other people from much far afield in the early british colonies have arrived since the 1950s : in particular, 6 % of people living in England have class origins in the indian subcontinent, by and large India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. [ 238 ] [ 256 ] About 0.7 % of people are taiwanese. [ 238 ] [ 256 ] 2.90 % of the population are black, from Africa and the Caribbean, particularly former british colonies. [ 238 ] [ 256 ] In 2007, 22 % of primary school children in England were from cultural minority families, [ 257 ] and in 2011 that design was 26.5 %. [ 258 ] About half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to immigration. [ 259 ] debate over immigration is politically outstanding ; [ 260 ] 80 % of respondents in a 2009 Home Office poll wanted to cap it. [ 261 ] The ONS has projected that the population will grow by nine million between 2014 and 2039. [ 262 ] England contains one autochthonal national minority, the cornish people, recognised by the united kingdom government under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2014. [ 263 ]

speech

Language Native speakers
( thousands ) [ 264 ]
English 46,937
Polish 529
Punjabi 272
Urdu 266
Bengali 216
Gujarati 212
Arabic 152
French 145
Portuguese 131
Welsh 8
Cornish 0.6
Other 2,267
Population 51,006

As its list suggests, the English terminology, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal natural language spoken by 98 % of the population. [ 265 ] It is an indo-european lyric in the Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic class. [ 266 ] After the Norman conquest, the Old English lyric, brought to Britain by the Anglo-Saxon settlers, was confined to the lower social classes as Norman French and Latin were used by the gentry. By the fifteenth hundred, English was back in manner among all classes, though much changed ; the Middle English form showed many signs of french charm, both in vocabulary and spell. During the English Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins. [ 267 ] Modern English has extended this custom of flexibility when it comes to incorporating words from unlike languages. Thanks in big share to the british Empire, the english linguistic process is the world ‘s unofficial lingua franca. [ 268 ] english language learn and education is an crucial economic activeness, and includes language school, tourism spending, and print. There is no legislation mandating an official speech for England, [ 269 ] but English is the only speech used for official business. Despite the nation ‘s relatively modest size, there are many distinct regional accents, and individuals with particularly firm accents may not be easily understand everywhere in the area. a well as English, England has two other autochthonal languages, Cornish and Welsh. Cornish died out as a community terminology in the eighteenth century but is being revived, [ 270 ] [ 271 ] and is nowadays protected under the european Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. [ 272 ] It is spoken by 0.1 % of people in Cornwall, [ 273 ] and is taught to some degree in several primary and secondary schools. [ 274 ] [ 275 ] When the advanced edge between Wales and England was established by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, many Welsh-speaking communities found themselves on the english side of the border. Welsh was spoken in Archenfield in Herefordshire into the nineteenth century, [ 276 ] and by natives of parts of western Shropshire until the in-between of the twentieth hundred if not late. [ 277 ] state schools teach students a second language or third lyric from the ages of seven, most normally french, spanish or german. [ 278 ] It was reported in 2007 that around 800,000 school students spoke a alien speech at home as a result of immigration among their kin, [ 257 ] the most coarse languages being Punjabi and Urdu. however, following the 2011 census data released by the Office for National Statistics, figures now show that Polish is the chief language spoken in England after English. [ 279 ]

religion

In the 2011 census, 59.4 % of the population of England specified their religion as Christian, 24.7 % answered that they had no religion, 5 % specified that they were Muslim, while 3.7 % of the population belongs to early religions and 7.2 % did not give an answer. [ 280 ] Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England, as it has been since the Early Middle Ages, although it was beginning introduced a lot earlier in Gaelic and Roman times. This celtic church service was gradually joined to the Catholic hierarchy following the 6th-century gregorian deputation to Kent led by St Augustine. The established church of England is the church of England, [ 281 ] which left communion with Rome in the 1530s when Henry VIII was unable to annul his marriage to the aunt of the king of Spain. The church regards itself as both Catholic and Protestant. [ 282 ] There are eminent Church and Low Church traditions and some Anglicans regard themselves as Anglo-Catholics, following the tractarian movement. The monarch of the United Kingdom is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, which has around 26 million baptize members ( of whom the huge majority are not regular churchgoers ). It forms part of the Anglican Communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury acting as its symbolic cosmopolitan head. [ 283 ] many cathedrals and parish churches are historic buildings of meaning architectural importance, such as Westminster Abbey, York Minster, Durham Cathedral, and Salisbury Cathedral .
The 2nd-largest Christian practice is the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Since its reintroduction after the Catholic Emancipation, the Church has organised ecclesiastically on an England and Wales basis where there are 4.5 million members ( most of whom are English ). [ 284 ] There has been one pope from England to date, hadrian IV ; while saints Bede and Anselm are regarded as Doctors of the Church. A class of Protestantism known as methodism is the third largest christian practice and grew out of Anglicanism through John Wesley. [ 285 ] It gained popularity in the mill towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and amongst tin miners in Cornwall. [ 286 ] There are early non-conformist minorities, such as Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, Unitarians and The Salvation Army. [ 287 ] The patron saint of England is Saint George ; his emblematic cross is included in the sag of England, ampere well as in the Union Flag as share of a combination. [ 288 ] There are many other English and consociate saints ; some of the best-known are : Cuthbert, Edmund, Alban, Wilfrid, Aidan, Edward the Confessor, John Fisher, Thomas More, Petroc, Piran, Margaret Clitherow and Thomas Becket. There are non-Christian religions practised. Jews have a history of a humble minority on the island since 1070. [ 289 ] They were expelled from England in 1290 following the Edict of Expulsion, only to be allowed back in 1656. [ 289 ] particularly since the 1950s, religions from the former british colonies have grown in numbers, due to immigration. Islam is the most coarse of these, immediately accounting for around 5 % of the population in England. [ 290 ] Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism are following in number, adding up to 2.8 % combined, [ 290 ] introduced from India and South East Asia. [ 290 ] A small minority of the population drill ancient Pagan religions. Neopaganism in the United Kingdom is primarily represented by Wicca and Witchcraft religions, Druidry, and Heathenry. According to the 2011 UK Census, there are roughly 53,172 people who identify as Pagan in England, [ nota bene 4 ] and 3,448 in Wales, [ nota bene 4 ] including 11,026 Wiccans in England and 740 in Wales. [ nota bene 5 ] 24.7 % of people in England declared no religion in 2011, compared with 14.6 % in 2001. These figures are slenderly lower than the unite figures for England and Wales as Wales has a higher level of irreligiousness than England. [ 291 ] Norwich had the highest such symmetry at 42.5 %, followed close by Brighton and Hove at 42.4 % .

education

The Department for Education is the government department responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including education. [ 292 ] State-run and state-funded schools are attended by approximately 93 % of English schoolchildren. [ 293 ] education is the duty of the Secretary of State for Education. [ 294 ] Children who are between the ages of 3 and 5 attend greenhouse or an early Years Foundation Stage reception unit within a basal school. Children between the ages of 5 and 11 attend elementary school, and secondary school is attended by those aged between 11 and 16. State-funded schools are obliged by law to teach the National Curriculum ; basic areas of learning include english literature, english linguistic process, mathematics, skill, art & design, citizenship, history, geography, religious education, design & engineering, computing, ancient & modern languages, music, and physical education. [ 295 ] More than 90 % of English schools require students to wear uniforms. [ 296 ] School uniforms are defined by individual schools, within the restraint that undifferentiated regulations must not discriminate on the grounds of sex, rush, disability, sexual predilection, gender reassignment, religion or belief. Schools may choose to permit trousers for girls or religious dress. [ 297 ] The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD presently ranks the overall cognition and skills of british 15-year-olds as 13th in the world in reading literacy, mathematics, and science with the median british scholar scoring 503.7, compared with the OECD average of 493, ahead of the United States and most of Europe. [ 298 ] Although most english secondary schools are comprehensive, there are selective inhalation grammar schools to which entrance is subject to passing the eleven-plus examination. Around 7.2 per penny of English schoolchildren attend individual schools, which are funded by private sources. [ 299 ] Standards in state of matter schools are monitored by the Office for Standards in Education, and in private schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. [ 300 ] After finishing compulsory education, students take GCSE examinations. Students may then opt to continue into far education for two years. far education colleges ( peculiarly sixth form colleges ) frequently form part of a secondary school site. A-level examinations are sat by a large number of foster education students, and much form the footing of an application to university. farther education ( FE ) covers a wide course of study of sketch and apprenticeships, including T-levels, BTEC, NVQ and others. tertiary colleges provide both academic and vocational courses. [ 301 ] Higher education students normally attend university from old age 18 onwards, where they study for an academic degree. There are over 90 universities in England, all but one of which are populace institutions. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is the government department creditworthy for higher education in England. [ 302 ] Students are by and large entitled to student loans to cover the monetary value of tutelage fees and live costs. [ nota bene 6 ] The first base degree offered to undergraduates is the bachelor ‘s degree, which normally takes three years to complete. Students are then able to work towards a graduate student degree, which normally takes one year, or towards a doctor’s degree, which takes three or more years. [ 303 ] England ‘s universities include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world ; University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and King ‘s College London are all ranked in the global top 30 in the 2018 QS World University Rankings. [ 304 ] The London School of Economics has been described as the populace ‘s ahead social science institution for both teach and research. [ 305 ] The London Business School is considered one of the universe ‘s go clientele schools and in 2010 its MBA broadcast was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times. [ 306 ] Academic degrees in England are normally split into classes : first class ( 1st ), upper moment course ( 2:1 ), lower second classify ( 2:2 ), third base ( 3rd ), and unclassified. [ 303 ] The King ‘s School, Canterbury and King ‘s School, Rochester are the oldest schools in the english-speaking world. [ 307 ] Many of England ‘s most well-known schools, such as Winchester College, Eton, St Paul ‘s School, Harrow School and Rugby School are fee-paying institutions. [ 308 ]

culture

computer architecture

many ancient standing stone monuments were erected during the prehistoric period ; amongst the best known are Stonehenge, Devil ‘s Arrows, Rudston Monolith and Castlerigg. [ 309 ] With the introduction of Ancient Roman computer architecture there was a development of basilica, baths, amphitheaters, exultant arches, villas, Roman temples, Roman roads, Roman forts, stockades and aqueducts. [ 310 ] It was the Romans who founded the first base cities and towns such as London, Bath, York, Chester and St Albans. possibly the best-known exemplar is Hadrian ‘s Wall extend right field across northerly England. [ 310 ] Another well-preserved exercise is the Roman Baths at Bath, Somerset. [ 310 ] early on Medieval architecture ‘s laic buildings were simple constructions chiefly using lumber with thatch for roofing. ecclesiastical architecture ranged from a synthesis of Hiberno – Saxon monasticism, [ 311 ] [ 312 ] to Early Christian basilica and architecture characterised by pilaster-strips, blank arcading, baluster shafts and trilateral headed openings. After the Norman seduction in 1066 assorted Castles in England were created then law lords could uphold their authority and in the north to protect from invasion. Some of the best-known chivalric castles are the Tower of London, Warwick Castle, Durham Castle and Windsor Castle. [ 313 ]
Throughout the Plantagenet era, an english Gothic architecture flourished, with prime examples including the medieval cathedrals such as Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and York Minster. [ 313 ] Expanding on the Norman base there was besides castles, palaces, capital houses, universities and parish churches. medieval architecture was completed with the 16th-century Tudor style ; the four-centred arch, immediately known as the Tudor arch, was a define feature as were wattle and daub houses domestically. In the aftermath of the Renaissance a shape of computer architecture echoing authoritative ancientness synthesised with Christianity appeared, the english Baroque style of architect Christopher Wren being peculiarly championed. [ 314 ] georgian architecture followed in a more polished manner, evoking a dim-witted palladian form ; the Royal Crescent at Bath is one of the best examples of this. With the emergence of romanticism during priggish time period, a Gothic Revival was launched. In summation to this, around the same clock the Industrial Revolution paved the way for buildings such as The Crystal Palace. Since the 1930s assorted modernist forms have appeared whose reception is often controversial, though hidebound resistance movements continue with support in influential places. [ nota bene 7 ]

Gardens

[316] The landscape garden at Stourhead. Inspired by the bang-up landscape artists of the seventeenth century, the landscape garden was described as a ‘living work of art ‘ when first opened in 1750s. Landscape garden, as developed by Capability Brown, set an international course for the English garden. Gardening, and visiting gardens, are regarded as typically english pursuits. The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. At large country houses, the English garden normally included lakes, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque computer architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape. [ 317 ] By the end of the eighteenth century, the English garden was being imitated by the french landscape garden, and as army for the liberation of rwanda away as St. Petersburg, Russia, in Pavlovsk, the gardens of the future Emperor Paul. It besides had a major influence on the mannequin of the public parks and gardens which appeared around the populace in the nineteenth century. [ 318 ] The English landscape garden was centred on the english state house and manor houses. [ 317 ] english Heritage and the National Trust preserve bang-up gardens and landscape parks throughout the area. [ 319 ] The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is held every year by the Royal Horticultural Society and is said to be the largest gardening show in the world. [ 320 ]

folklore

english folklore developed over many centuries. Some of the characters and stories are show across England, but most belong to specific regions. Common folkloric beings include pixies, giants, elves, bogeymen, trolls, goblins and dwarves. While many legends and folk-customs are thought to be ancient, such as the tales featuring Offa of Angel and Wayland the Smith, [ 321 ] others go steady from after the Norman invasion. The legends featuring Robin Hood and his Merry Men of Sherwood, and their battles with the Sheriff of Nottingham, are among the best-known of these. [ 322 ] During the High Middle Ages tales originating from Brythonic traditions entered English folklore and developed into the arthurian myth. [ 323 ] [ 324 ] [ 325 ] These were derived from Anglo-Norman, Welsh and french sources, [ 324 ] featuring King Arthur, Camelot, Excalibur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table such as Lancelot. These stories are most centrally brought together within Geoffrey of Monmouth ‘s Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain ). [ niobium 8 ] Another early trope from british custom, King Cole, may have been based on a real figure from Sub-Roman Britain. Many of the tales and pseudo-histories make up separate of the wide Matter of Britain, a collection of shared british folklore. Some folk music figures are based on semitrailer or actual historical people whose report has been passed down centuries ; Lady Godiva for example was said to have ridden naked on horseback through Coventry, Hereward the Wake was a heroic english figure resisting the Norman invasion, Herne the Hunter is an equestrian haunt associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park and Mother Shipton is the archetypal wiccan. [ 327 ] On 5 November people make bonfires, set off fireworks and consume brittle apples in commemoration of the frustration of the Gunpowder Plot centred on Guy Fawkes. The chivalrous bandit, such as Dick Turpin, is a recurring quality, while Blackbeard is the archetypal pirate. There are versatile national and regional folk music activities, participated in to this day, such as Morris dancing, Maypole dancing, Rapper sword in the North East, Long Sword dance in Yorkshire, Mummers Plays, bottle-kicking in Leicestershire, and cheese-rolling at Cooper ‘s Hill. [ 328 ] There is no official national costume, but a few are well established such as the Pearly Kings and Queens associated with cockneys, the Royal Guard, the Morris costume and Beefeaters. [ 329 ]

cuisine

Since the early modern time period the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach path and a reliance on the high choice of natural produce. [ 330 ] During the Middle Ages and through the Renaissance time period, english cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation, though a decline began during the Industrial Revolution with the motivate away from the land and increasing urbanization of the populace. The cuisine of England has, however, recently undergone a revival, which has been recognised by food critics with some good ratings in Restaurant ‘s best restaurant in the populace charts. [ 331 ] An early script of English recipes is the Forme of Cury from the royal court of Richard II. [ 332 ] traditional examples of English food include the Sunday roast, featuring a roasted joint ( normally beef, lamb, chicken or pork ) served with assorted vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. [ 333 ] other big meals include fish and chips and the full English breakfast ( generally consisting of bacon, sausages, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, adust beans, mushrooms and eggs ). [ 334 ] Various kernel pies are consumed, such as steak and kidney proto-indo european, steak and ale proto-indo european, bungalow proto-indo european, pork proto-indo european ( normally eaten cold ) [ 333 ] and the Cornish pasty. Sausages are normally eat, either as bangers and chat up or frog in the hole. Lancashire hot pot is a long-familiar grizzle originating in the northwest. Some of the more popular cheeses are Cheddar, Red Leicester, Wensleydale, Double Gloucester and Blue Stilton. many anglo-indian hybrid dishes, curries, have been created, such as chicken tikka masala and balti. traditional english dessert dishes include apple proto-indo european or early yield pies ; spotted cock – all broadly served with custard ; and, more recently, awkward brittle pudding. gratifying pastries include scones ( either knit or containing dried yield ) served with fix or skim, dried fruit loaves, Eccles cakes and mince pies arsenic well as a wide range of sweet or spiced biscuits. common non-alcoholic drinks include tea, the popularity of which was increased by Catherine of Braganza, [ 335 ] and coffee bean ; frequently consumed alcoholic drinks include wine, ciders and english beers, such as bitter, meek, stout and brown ale. [ 336 ]

ocular arts

The earliest know examples are the prehistoric rock and cave art pieces, most outstanding in North Yorkshire, Northumberland and Cumbria, but besides feature further south, for case at Creswell Crags. [ 337 ] With the arrival of Roman culture in the first hundred, diverse forms of art such as statues, busts, glassware and mosaics were the average. There are numerous surviving artefacts, such as those at Lullingstone and Aldborough. [ 338 ] During the early Middle Ages the style favoured sculpt crosses and ivories, manuscript painting, gold and enamel jewelry, demonstrating a love of intricate, weave designs such as in the Staffordshire Hoard discovered in 2009. Some of these blended Gaelic and anglian styles, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and vespasian Psalter. [ 339 ] Later Gothic art was popular at Winchester and Canterbury, examples survive such as Benedictional of St. Æthelwold and Luttrell Psalter. [ 340 ] The Tudor era saw outstanding artists as region of their court, portrait paint which would remain an survive part of English art, was boosted by german Hans Holbein, natives such as Nicholas Hilliard built on this. [ 340 ] Under the Stuarts, Continental artists were influential particularly the Flemish, examples from the period include Anthony vanguard Dyck, Peter Lely, Godfrey Kneller and William Dobson. [ 340 ] The eighteenth century was a time of meaning with the establish of the Royal Academy, a classicism based on the high Renaissance prevailed, with Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds becoming two of England ‘s most prize artists. [ 340 ] In the nineteenth century, Constable and Turner were major landscape artists. The Norwich School continued the landscape tradition, while the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, led by artists such as Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais, revived the early Renaissance expressive style with their vivid and detail dash. [ 340 ] Prominent amongst 20th-century artists was Henry Moore, regarded as the voice of british sculpt, and of british modernism in general. [ 341 ] More holocene painters include Lucian Freud, whose work Benefits Supervisor Sleeping in 2008 set a world record for sale measure of a painting by a then-living artist. [ 342 ] The Royal Society of Arts is an constitution committed to the arts and culture. [ 343 ]

literature, poetry, and philosophy

early authors such as Bede and Alcuin wrote in Latin. [ 344 ] The time period of Old English literature provided the epic poem Beowulf and the layman prose of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, [ 345 ] along with christian writings such as Judith, Cædmon ‘s Hymn and hagiographies. [ 344 ] Following the Norman conquest Latin continued amongst the educated classes, angstrom well as an anglo-french literature. Middle English literature emerged with Geoffrey Chaucer, writer of The Canterbury Tales, along with Gower, the Pearl Poet and Langland. William of Ockham and Roger Bacon, who were Franciscans, were major philosophers of the Middle Ages. julian of Norwich, who wrote Revelations of Divine Love, was a outstanding Christian mystic. With the english Renaissance literature in the early Modern English style appeared. William Shakespeare, whose works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, remains one of the most champion authors in english literature. [ 346 ] Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Philip Sydney, Thomas Kyd, John Donne, and Ben Jonson are other establish authors of the Elizabethan historic period. [ 347 ] Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes wrote on empiricism and materialism, including scientific method and social contract. [ 347 ] Filmer wrote on the Divine Right of Kings. Marvell was the best-known poet of the Commonwealth, [ 348 ] while John Milton authored Paradise Lost during the Restoration .

This royal enthrone of kings, this empowered isle, this earth of stateliness, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise ; this fortress, built by nature for herself. This blessed plot, this earth, this region, this England .

William Shakespeare. [ 349 ]
Some of the most outstanding philosophers of the Enlightenment were John Locke, Thomas Paine, Samuel Johnson and Jeremy Bentham. More radical elements were late countered by Edmund Burke who is regarded as the laminitis of conservatism. [ 350 ] The poet Alexander Pope with his satirical verse became well regarded. The english played a significant role in romanticism : Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, John Keats, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Blake and William Wordsworth were major figures. [ 351 ] In response to the Industrial Revolution, agrarian writers sought a manner between autonomy and custom ; William Cobbett, G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc were main exponents, while the collapse of club socialism, Arthur Penty, and cooperative movement advocate G. D. H. Cole are reasonably relate. [ 352 ] Empiricism continued through John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell, while Bernard Williams was involved in analytics. Authors from around the victorian era include Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells and Lewis Carroll. [ 353 ] Since then England has continued to produce novelists such as George Orwell, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, C. S. Lewis, Enid Blyton, Aldous Huxley, Agatha Christie, Terry Pratchett, J. R. R. Tolkien, and J. K. Rowling. [ 354 ]

Performing arts

The traditional folk music music of England is centuries old and has contributed to respective genres prominently ; by and large sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and dance music. It has its own discrete variations and regional peculiarities. Ballads featuring Robin Hood, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in the sixteenth hundred, are an important artifact, as are John Playford ‘s The Dancing Master and Robert Harley ‘s Roxburghe Ballads collections. [ 355 ] Some of the best-known songs are Greensleeves, Pastime with Good Company, Maggie May and Spanish Ladies amongst others. many nursery rhymes are of English origin such as Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Roses Are Red, Jack and Jill, London Bridge Is Falling Down, The Grand Old Duke of York, Hey Diddle Diddle and Humpty Dumpty. [ 356 ] Traditional English Christmas carols include “ We Wish You a Merry Christmas “, “ The First Noel “, “ I Saw Three Ships ” and “ God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen “. [ 357 ] early english composers in classical music music include Renaissance artists Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, followed up by Henry Purcell from the Baroque period. German-born George Frideric Handel spent most of his composing life in London and became a national icon in Britain, creating some of the most well-known works of classical music, particularly his english oratorios, The Messiah, Solomon, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks. [ 358 ] One of his four Coronation Anthems, Zadok the Priest, composed for the coronation of George II, has been performed at every subsequent british coronation, traditionally during the sovereign ‘s anointing. classical music music attracted much attention from 1784 with the formation of the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival, which was the longest running classical music festival of its kind until the final concerts in 1912. The english Musical Renaissance was a hypothetical development in the late 19th and early twentieth century, when english composers, often those lecturing or trained at the Royal College of Music, were said to have freed themselves from foreign musical influences. There was a revival in the profile of composers from England in the twentieth century led by Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and others. [ 359 ] contemporary composers from England include Michael Nyman, best known for The Piano, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have achieved enormous success in the West end and worldwide. [ 360 ]
In popular music, many English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all prison term. Acts such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Queen, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Def Leppard are among the highest-selling record artists in the populace. [ 362 ] many musical genres have origins in ( or impregnable associations with ) England, such as british invasion, progressive rock, hard rock ‘n’ roll, Mod, glam rock, big alloy, Britpop, indie rock, gothic rock, shoegazing, acerb house, garage, tripper hop, drum and bass and dubstep. [ 363 ] large outdoor music festivals in the summer and fall are popular, such as Glastonbury, V Festival, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals. England was at the vanguard of the illegal, free rave movement from the belated 1980s, which led to pan-European acculturation of teknivals mirrored on the UK free festival motion and associated travelling life style. [ 364 ] The Boishakhi Mela is a Bengali New Year festival celebrated by the british Bangladeshi community. It is the largest alfresco asian festival in Europe. After the Notting Hill Carnival, it is the second-largest street festival in the United Kingdom attracting over 80,000 visitors from across the state. [ 365 ] The most big opera house in England is the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. [ 366 ] The Proms – a season of orchestral classical music concerts held chiefly at the Royal Albert Hall in London – is a major cultural consequence in the English calendar, and takes space annual. [ 366 ] The Royal Ballet is one of the world ‘s foremost classical music ballet companies, its reputation built on two outstanding figures of 20th-century dance, prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn and choreographer Frederick Ashton. The Royal Academy of Music is the oldest conservatory in England, founded in 1822. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV. [ 367 ] England is home to numerous major orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. [ 368 ] The circus is a traditional kind of entertainment in England. Chipperfield ‘s Circus dates spinal column more than 300 years, making it one of the oldest family circus dynasties. [ 369 ] Philip Astley is regarded as the church father of the modern circus. [ 370 ] Following his invention of the circus ring in 1768, Astley ‘s Amphitheatre opened in London in 1773. [ 370 ] [ 371 ] As an equestrian victor Astley had a skill for flim-flam horse-riding, and when he added tumblers, tightrope -walkers, jugglers, performing dogs, and a clown to fill clock time between his own demonstrations – the modern circus was born. [ 372 ] [ 373 ] Pantomime is a british musical comedy stage output, designed for family entertainment. It is performed in theatres throughout the England during the Christmas and New Year season. The artwork originated in the eighteenth century with John Weaver, a dance overlord and choreographer. [ 374 ] In 19th century England it acquired its present form, which includes songs, slapstick comedy and dance, employing gender-crossing actors, combining topical humor with a story broadly based on a long-familiar fagot narrative. [ 374 ]

cinema

England ( and the UK as a hale ) has had a considerable influence on the history of the cinema, producing some of the greatest actors, directors and motion pictures of all time, including Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, John Gielgud, Peter Sellers, Julie Andrews, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet and Daniel Day-Lewis. Hitchcock and Lean are among the most critically applaud filmmakers. [ 376 ] Hitchcock ‘s first thriller, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog ( 1926 ), helped shape the thriller genre in movie, while his 1929 film, Blackmail, is often regarded as the inaugural british sound feature film. [ 377 ] major film studios in England include Pinewood, Elstree and Shepperton. Some of the most commercially successful films of all clock time have been produced in England, including two of the highest-grossing film franchises ( Harry Potter and James Bond ). [ 378 ] Ealing Studios in London has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio in the world. [ 379 ] Famous for recording many gesture visualize film scores, the London Symphony Orchestra first gear performed film music in 1935. [ 380 ] The Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee saw the production of the first gory horror films showing blood and guts in color. [ 381 ] The BFI Top 100 british films includes Monty Python’s Life of Brian ( 1979 ), a film regularly voted the funniest of all clock time by the UK public. [ 382 ] english producers are besides active agent in international co-productions and english actors, directors and crew have regularly in american films. The UK movie council ranked David Yates, Christopher Nolan, Mike Newell, Ridley Scott and Paul Greengrass the five most commercially successful english directors since 2001. [ 383 ] other contemporary english directors include Sam Mendes, Guy Ritchie and Richard Curtis. current actors include Tom Hardy, Daniel Craig, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lena Headey, Felicity Jones, Emilia Clarke, Lashana Lynch, and Emma Watson. Acclaimed for his gesture capture work, Andy Serkis opened The Imaginarium Studios in London in 2011. [ 384 ] The ocular effects party Framestore in London has produced some of the most critically acclaimed especial effects in advanced film. [ 385 ] Many successful Hollywood films have been based on english people, stories or events. The ‘English Cycle ‘ of Disney animated films include Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh. [ 386 ]

Museums, libraries, and galleries

english Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is presently sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The jacob’s ladder National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty holds a contrast function. 17 of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England. [ 387 ] Some of the best-known of these are : Hadrian ‘s Wall, Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London, Jurassic Coast, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, Studley Royal Park and diverse others. [ 388 ] There are many museums in England, but possibly the most luminary is London ‘s british Museum. Its collection of more than seven million objects [ 389 ] is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the global, [ 390 ] sourced from every continent, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. The british Library in London is the national library and is one of the universe ‘s largest research libraries, holding over 150 million items in about all known languages and formats ; including around 25 million books. [ 391 ] [ 392 ] The most elder art gallery is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which houses a solicitation of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th hundred to 1900. [ 393 ] The Tate galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art ; they besides host the excellently controversial Turner Prize. [ 394 ]

Media

The BBC, founded in 1922, is the UK ‘s publicly fund radio, television and Internet broadcast corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world. [ 395 ] [ 396 ] It operates numerous television receiver and radio stations in the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by the television license. [ 397 ] [ 398 ] The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the earth ‘s largest of any kind. [ 399 ] It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages. [ 400 ] [ 401 ] London dominates the media sector in England : national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although Manchester is besides a significant national media center. The UK publish sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people. [ 402 ] National newspapers produced in England include The Times, The Guardian and the Financial Times. [ 403 ] Magazines and journals published in England that have achieved global circulation include Nature, New Scientist, The Spectator, Prospect, NME and The Economist. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has overall province over media and air in England. [ 404 ]

sport

England has a strong sporting inheritance, and during the nineteenth hundred codified many sports that are now played around the world. Sports originating in England include association football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, box, badminton, squash, [ 406 ] rounders, [ 407 ] field hockey, snooker, billiards, darts, mesa tennis, bowl, netball, thoroughbred horseracing, greyhound race and dodger hunt. It has helped the development of golf, sailing and Formula One. football is the most popular of these sports. The England national football team, whose home venue is Wembley Stadium, played Scotland in the first always international football match in 1872. [ 408 ] Referred to as the “ home plate of football ” by FIFA, England hosted the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and won the tournament by defeating West Germany 4–2 in the final, with Geoff Hurst scoring a hat-trick. [ 409 ] With a british television audience vertex of 32.30 million viewers, the final is the most watch television event always in the UK. [ 410 ]
At clubhouse level, England is recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, due to Sheffield F.C. founded in 1857 being the world ‘s oldest club. The Football Association is the oldest government body in the mutant, with the rules of football first base drafted in 1863 by Ebenezer Cobb Morley. [ 411 ] The FA Cup and The Football League were the first cup and league competitions respectively. In the modern day, the Premier League is the universe ‘s most-watched football league, [ 412 ] most lucrative, [ 413 ] and amongst the elect. [ 414 ] As is the case throughout the UK, football in England is luminary for the rivalries between clubs and the passion of the supporters, which includes a custom of football chants. [ 415 ] The most successful english football team in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League is Liverpool F.C. who have won the competition on six occasions. [ 416 ] early English success has come from Manchester United F.C., winning the competition on 3 occasions ; Nottingham Forest F.C. and Chelsea F.C. on 2 occasions, Aston Villa F.C. have merely won the trophy once. [ 417 ]
cricket is broadly thought to have been developed in the early medieval period among the farm and metalworking communities of the Weald. [ 419 ] The England cricket team is a composite England and Wales, team. One of the game ‘s top rivalries is The Ashes series between England and Australia, contested since 1882. The climax of the 2005 Ashes was viewed by 7.4 million as it was available on tellurian television receiver. [ 420 ] England has hosted five Cricket World Cups ( 1975, 1979, 1983, 1999 and 2019 ), winning the 2019 edition in a final involve as one of the greatest one day internationals always played. [ 421 ] They hosted the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009, winning this format in 2010 outwit rivals Australia in the final. In the domestic competition, the County Championship, Yorkshire are by far the most successful club having won the competition 32 times instantaneously and sharing it on 1 other occasion. [ 422 ] Lord ‘s Cricket Ground situated in London is sometimes referred to as the “ Mecca of Cricket ”. [ 423 ] William Penny Brookes was big in organising the format for the mod Olympic Games. In 1994, then President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, laid a wreath on Brooke ‘s scratch, and said, “ I came to pay court and tribute to Dr Brookes, who actually was the collapse of the modern Olympic Games ”. [ 424 ] London has hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times, in 1908, 1948, and 2012. England competes in the Commonwealth Games, held every four years. Sport England is the governing soundbox responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting natural process in England. The Minister for Sport and Civil Society has duty for mutant in England. [ 425 ]
Rugby union originated in Rugby School, Warwickshire in the early nineteenth hundred. [ 426 ] The England rugby union team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, with Jonny Wilkinson scoring the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time against Australia. England was one of the host nations of the contest in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and besides hosted the 2015 Rugby World Cup. [ 427 ] The top floor of club participation is the english Premiership. Leicester Tigers, London Wasps, Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints have had achiever in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. Rugby league was born in Huddersfield in 1895. Since 2008, the England national rugby league team has been a full test nation in stead of the Great Britain national rugby league team, which won three World Cups but is immediately retired. Club sides play in Super League, the contemporary embodiment of the Rugby Football League Championship. Rugby League is most popular among towns in the northerly English counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria. [ 428 ] The huge majority of English clubs in Super League are based in the north of England. Some of the most successful clubs include Wigan Warriors, Hull F.C. St. Helens, Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants ; the former three have all won the World Club Challenge previously. golf has been big in England ; ascribable in part to its cultural and geographic ties to Scotland, the home of Golf. [ 429 ] There are both professional enlistment for men and women, in two independent tours : the PGA and the european Tour. England has produced august slam winners : Cyril Walker, Tony Jacklin, Nick Faldo, and Justin Rose in the men ‘s and Laura Davies, Alison Nicholas, and Karen Stupples in the women ‘s. The world ‘s oldest golf tournament, and golf ‘s first major is The assailable Championship, played both in England and Scotland. The biennial golf rival, the Ryder Cup, is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder who sponsored the event and donated the trophy. [ 430 ] Nick Faldo is the most successful Ryder Cup player always, having won the most points ( 25 ) of any player on either the European or US teams. [ 431 ]
tennis was created in Birmingham in the late nineteenth hundred, and the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the earth, and widely considered the most prestigious. [ 433 ] [ 434 ] Wimbledon is a tournament that has a major place in the british cultural calendar. Fred Perry was the last Englishman to win Wimbledon in 1936. He was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles [ 435 ] and helped lead the Great Britain team to four Davis Cup wins. english women who have won Wimbledon include : Ann Haydon Jones in 1969 and Virginia Wade in 1977. In box, under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, England has produced many earth champions across the weight divisions internationally recognised by the governing bodies. World champions include Bob Fitzsimmons, Ted “ Kid ” Lewis, Randolph Turpin, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis, Ricky Hatton, Naseem Hamed, Amir Khan, Carl Froch, and David Haye. [ 436 ] In women ‘s box, Nicola Adams became the populace ‘s first charwoman to win an Olympic box amber decoration at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Originating in 17th and 18th-century England, the thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in sawhorse racing. The National Hunt cavalry race the Grand National, is held annually at Aintree Racecourse in early April. It is the most watch sawhorse slipstream in the UK, attracting free-and-easy observers, and three-time achiever Red Rum is the most successful racehorse in the event ‘s history. [ 437 ] Red Rum is besides the best-known racehorse in the country. [ 438 ]
The 1950 british Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created Formula One World Championship. [ 439 ] Since then, England has produced some of the greatest drivers in the sport, including ; John Surtees, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill ( only driver to have won the Triple Crown ), Nigel Mansell ( only man to hold F1 and IndyCar titles at the same time ), Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. [ 440 ] It has manufactured some of the most technically advance race cars, and many of nowadays ‘s race companies choose England as their base of operations for its mastermind cognition and organization. McLaren Automotive, Williams F1, Team Lotus, Honda, Brawn GP, Benetton, Renault, and Red Bull Racing are all, or have been, located in the confederacy of England. England besides has a deep inheritance in Grand Prix motorbike race, the premier championship of motorcycle road rush, and produced respective World Champions across all the respective classify of motorcycle : Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Phil Read, Geoff Duke, and Barry Sheene .
Mo Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games. Darts is a wide popular frolic in England ; a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional public house crippled. The frolic is governed by the World Darts Federation, one of its member organisations is the british Darts Organisation ( BDO ), which per annum stages the BDO World Darts Championship, the other being the Professional Darts Corporation ( PDC ), which runs its own earth championship at Alexandra Palace in London. Phil Taylor is widely regarded as the best darts player of all time, having won 187 professional tournaments, and a record 16 World Championships. [ 441 ] [ 442 ] Trina Gulliver is the ten-time Women ‘s World Professional Darts Champion of the british Darts Organisation. Another popular sport normally associated with public house games is Snooker, and England has produced respective world champions, including Steve Davis and Ronnie O’Sullivan. The English are bang-up sailors and enjoy competitive seafaring ; establish and winning some of the universe ‘s most celebrated and respected international competitive tournaments across the diverse race formats, including the match subspecies, a regatta, and the America ‘s Cup. England has produced some of the earth ‘s greatest sailors, including Francis Chichester, Herbert Hasler, John Ridgway, Robin Knox-Johnston, Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding, Paul Goodison, and the most successful Olympic bluejacket ever Ben Ainslie. [ 443 ]

National symbols

The St George ‘s Cross has been the national flag of England since the thirteenth hundred. originally the flag was used by the maritime Republic of Genoa. The english sovereign paid a protection to the Doge of Genoa from 1190 onwards so that English ships could fly the flag as a entail of security when entering the Mediterranean. A loss hybridization was a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with Saint George, along with countries and cities, which claimed him as their patron canonize and used his crisscross as a banner. [ 444 ] Since 1606 the St George ‘s Cross has formed share of the purpose of the Union Flag, a Pan-British flag designed by King James I. [ 288 ] During the English Civil War and Interregnum, the New Model Army ‘s standards and the Commonwealth ‘s Great Seal both incorporated the flag of Saint George. [ 445 ] [ 446 ]
There are numerous early symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the Tudor rose, the nation ‘s floral emblem, and the Three Lions featured on the Royal Arms of England. The Tudor rose was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses as a symbol of peace. [ 447 ] It is a syncretic symbol in that it merged the white rose of the Yorkists and the red rose of the Lancastrians —cadet branches of the Plantagenets who went to war over control of the nation. It is besides known as the Rose of England. [ 448 ] The oak corner is a symbol of England, representing forte and endurance. The Royal Oak symbol and Oak Apple Day commemorate the miss of King Charles II from the grasp of the parliamentarians after his don ‘s performance : he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before safely reaching exile. The Royal Arms of England, a national coating of arms featuring three lions, originated with its borrowing by Richard the Lionheart in 1198. It is blazoned as gules, three lions passant guardant or and it provides one of the most big symbols of England ; it is similar to the traditional arms of Normandy. England does not have an official designated home anthem, as the United Kingdom as a wholly has God Save the Queen. however, the following are often considered unofficial English national anthems : Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory ( used for England during the 2002 Commonwealth Games ), [ 449 ] and I Vow to Thee, My Country. England ‘s National Day is 23 April which is Saint George ‘s Day : ideal George is the patron saint of England. [ 450 ]

See besides

Notes

References

bibliography

  • English Heritage – National body protecting English heritage
  • Natural England – Wildlife and the natural world of England
  • VisitEngland – English Tourist Board
  • BBC News – England – News items from BBC News relating to England
  • GOV.UK – The Official Website of the British Government
  • Geographic data related to England at OpenStreetMap

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